Maximum Ride: How to Stop Global Warming
by Literature Rogue
Summary: Global Warming. You hear about it every day. It doesn't even seem possible. But it's real, and when you're trying to save the world, a little thing like Global Warming can make a big difference. I would know. Post Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
1. Prologue

**Lit Note: **This is my first Maximum Ride story. It's set directly after Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. It was started almost directly after that book was released, too, but I just decided to (re)post it now. If you recognize it, I posted some of it last summer, but recently decided to pick up the story again. Anyway, this is just my version of Book Four. It's going to have short chapters, just like the original books, but expect quick updates, at least at first. I have a lot of this pre-written.

**DISCLAIMER: **Well, I'm not the Director, so I don't own Maximum Ride...

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**Prologue:**

The slideshow progressed at a dull pace. A picture of the ice melting in the arctic. One of the ozone layer, and how it was thin-to-nothing. A photo of one of the last clouded leopards on earth. And then a picture of the earth, looking a lot less crowded and a lot more…aquatic.

A picture of subject six.

And then the photos faded out to black. The lights slowly brightened the dim conference room. There was a single long table set up, and at the far end of the table was one person. The rest of the table was littered with various other people, but whoever was standing at the front of the room seemed intent on whoever was sitting at the head of the table. "So, as you can see, Global Warming is our new objective."

The Director leaned forward, still hidden in the shadows of the room. "And this will conceal the By-Half Plan? You are certain that it will take Subject Six out of the picture?" The voice was harsh, and the eyes narrowed as the lighting in the room steadily became lighter. The person at the front of the room gave a grim sort of smile.

"Max has a bad habit of playing the hero. It's gotten her into trouble before, but I know it will keep her out of trouble this time." He paused, staring straight at the Director. "I know her. I was the number one agent in her case. I know how she'll react to almost any situation. And I know we can't terminate her yet. She might come in handy in the future."

"_Subject Six _hasn't cooperated in the past, Batchelder," the Director reminded him in a dull tone. "But I don't have time to chase them around the world, and I certainly don't have the money to waste on sending someone after them. If you can keep them out of my way, perhaps we can let them live. For now."

Jeb nodded. "You won't regret this."

"I'd better not." The Director nodded to one of the whitecoats near the door. "Initiate Operation Global Warming…"


	2. Chapter 1

**Lit Note: **Chaper one. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: **My real name is not James Patterson.

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**1**

Nothing could compare to the feeling of flight. Coasting on air currents, pumping your wings up and down to remain airborne. Swooping, diving, and looping in great circles. The adrenaline rush it gave was incomparable. And, to me, it felt just like home. Not that staying with Dr. Martinez had been terrible. She was my _mother_, after all. Yeah, that's still weird. After all these years of wondering, the only one out of the six of us to find answers, real answers, was me.

And it was still weird to call her 'mom'. I just wasn't used to it yet.

What I was used to by now was the small fact that I had wings, heightened senses, and was probably being hunted by any number of enemies at this very moment. We all were. But, then again, what did you expect? I'm supposed to 'save the world', remember?

Being the leader of my Flock is one thing. Saving the world? That's gonna hafta wait. Right now I'm focused on getting as far away from Europe as possible, and looking ahead to make sure we have some food once we get there. The kids are holding up; they're happy to be back together again. My gaze drifted to Fang, and I probably would've sneered, if I hadn't been so glad to see him.

He was flying next to me, very close. In fact, on the downstrokes, the tips of his dark feathers brushed my speckled wings. Yes, _wings_. We all have them: me (Max), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. Where have you been? Anyway, there's also Total, Angel's talking dog. He doesn't have wings.

Try to keep up, okay?

I had a headache. Again. Not one of those brain-splitting headaches I used to get, back when the Voice in my head appeared, but a normal, probably stress-related migraine. I rubbed my temples slightly, turning my attention to do a quick scan of our area. Angel and Nudge were swooping in large arcs around us, trying to mimic those hawks we'd seen before. Iggy and the Gasman were talking in hushed voices (I'd have to talk to them later), with Total in the baby carrier slung over Iggy's back.

"You okay?" I was so used to this question by now my answer came automatically. "Fine." But Fang was looking at me, more like staring really. Sometimes it sort of creeped me out. It seemed like Fang was staring through me instead of at me sometimes.

"You don't look fine. You look like you might be nauseous, but that's about it." He gave me one of his rare smiles and I heaved a long sigh. "I'm not sick. Unless being 'sick of you' counts."

"Max?" My head snapped instantly at the grip on my jacket. Tensing immediately, I glanced over to see it was only Gazzy on my other side. He was wearing an innocent sort of grin, the one that always seemed to remind me he was only eight years old, even though he'd been through so much. All of my Flock seemed older than they really were. "I'm hungry. And Total needs to-"

"Okay, guys. Going down!" Angling my wings downward, I took a deep nosedive, enjoying the rush of the wind against my face. Pulling out of it just before my tennis shoes brushed the grass below, I gave a victorious sort of smirk. I was getting better at controlling that super speed thing.

Rolling my shoulders a bit, I flexed my wing muscles. They were stiff from flying for so many hours straight. I was used to flying in the comfort of American Airlines from our stint in Europe. That's the last time I use any normal mode of transportation if I can help it. My muscles were so sore. It hadn't been like this since we'd first started learning how to fly. Granted, I'd been flying almost every day of my life since then...

The Flock landed around me about two minutes later, first Iggy landing lightly and avoiding the forest of trees to his left. I offered him a grin. I admired Iggy a lot, not only for being blind, but for being able to live with it like he did. "So, are we in another forest?"

"Forests are good for hiding," I insisted, narrowly avoiding an Angel-and-Nudge sandwich as they came hurtling toward the ground, their elbows locked. They landed in a heap, giggling.

"Forests are harder to escape from, though," Gazzy whined, touching down just before Fang landed silently behind me. "Yeah, hard for us, but hard for the mutants chasing us, too." I glanced over my shoulder at Fang. He was my best friend. He always had my back.

Usually. I was still not happy about the fact that he practically abandoned me while I followed my 'destiny' to save the world, but I could forgive him. Maybe.

I was just glad my Flock was all together, safe and sound. Six kids, twelve wings, one talking dog. They're my friends, they're my family, they're all I've got. And, we can fly.

So we've got that going for us.


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **James Patterson is also not my alias. You do the math.

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** 2**

We sat around, spearing marshmallows and bananas and anything we could find, roasting them over our small fire. Our Flock had tested the limits of what could and couldn't be roasted over an open flame multiple times. Basically, anything without plastic wrapping was good. We'd learned that lesson from Gazzy.

I lazily rotated the stick holding my hotdog, not really paying attention to my surroundings. Which, you know, was probably not a smart idea, considering something could come at us at any given moment, and without my expert surveillance skills, how would we fight back? Of course, Angel could read minds, so she'd know if anyone was coming.

Unconsciously, my gaze drifted to her, my baby, curled up against a tree trunk on my left, Total in her lap. She was chewing rapidly, already on her third hotdog. I gave a low sigh. Everyone was here, safe. Everyone was happy...

Except me. But, I mean, I'm never really happy, so it doesn't really count. And it's kind of hard to be happy when the weight of the world is literally on your shoulders. So, we'd discovered secret files from the Institute in New York, practically gotten killed in an Itex building in Florida, and somehow wound up in Europe. And I still didn't feel like I was any closer to saving the world than I was six months ago, before any of this even happened.

And, it was all still really fuzzy. The whitecoats were working for Itex. I think. But, then, what did the Institute have to do with anything? There were other mutants there, too. Were they all the same institution? Were they different? Sometimes I think it would be easier if we just did what Iggy said and let him blow up the School. Of course, seeing as there were schools all over the world, that would take a lot of dynamite.

_Don't look at the big picture, Max. It's all a piece of the big puzzle of life. _I almost screamed in irritation. The Voice was back. Yeah, I have a voice in my head that's not my own. Actually, it belongs to my ex-savior Jeb Batchelder, who turned out to be my biological father. No, I'm not crazy. Well, maybe I am, but not because of that.

This is just a normal week in the life of your average bird-kid. Welcome to paradise!

I must have been staring out into space again, because five worried pairs of eyes met mine over the fire. Actually, technically, only three pairs because Fang was typing away at his laptop and Iggy...was blind. "What?"

Nudge exhaled deeply, "Are you okay? You look kind of..." She trailed off blankly, apparently unable to come up with the proper way to describe how I looked. Even Angel was staring at me with a worried expression, though I knew not because she thought I felt sick. She'd read my mind, and knew how stressed out I'd been getting lately. Angel yawned widely before leaning against me, resting her head in my lap.

_It'll all turn out okay, Max. You'll see._

Sometimes I wished I could be as innocent as a little kid. Then again, when I was Angel's age, I'd already learned how to break someone's neck.

Not that she hadn't, but she never threatened to do that to Fang if he didn't stop bothering her. Three guesses as to who _did_ threaten to break Fang's neck if he didn't stop bothering her.

It had been a long day. Granted, any day for an avian-human hybrid was long. Angel had drifted off to sleep in my lap, Total curled up at her side. His legs were moving rapidly, as if he was running. "Need...wings..." I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes at the talking dog. The little fur ball, like it or not, had become part of the Flock. _My_ Flock.

Gazzy had eased his way to my other side, my arm around his shoulders. It was funny to think about. I had a mom now, but I was like their mom. If moms were butt-kicking, Eraser-eating, bird-kids. But I could be mom-like, in a sense. Like the 'no guns' rule. Or the fact that the younger kids all had bedtimes, and liked being tucked in by me.

"Max?" Nudge suddenly asked from across the fire. She and Iggy were still roasting whatever they could dig out of Fang's backpack. I turned my head in her direction. "Me and Iggy'll take first watch. You should get some sleep." And, you know, even when someone invaded my motherly-instincts, I didn't really mind.

Go ahead and take all the watch you want, Nudge. Not that I was going to sleep anyway, but it would be good just to have time to sit back and think about everything. And God knows I have a lot to think about.


	4. Chapter 3

**Lit Note: **I kind of like cliffhangers, especially considering with fanfiction, you can't just jump right into the next chapter and figure out what's going on. You have to wait until the author (AKA _moi_) updates. So I apologize in advance for any and all cliffhangers that can (and will) appear in this story. It's just a part of my style, and I can't really change it. So. On with the fic.

**DISCLAIMER: **Maximum Ride and all related characters and logos belong to their respective owners, no matter how many times I place a bid on the Flock on eBay. Jeb always outbids me, the sly dog.

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**3**

When something grabbed my wrist in the middle of the night, I reacted the way I'd been taught. I mean, come on. The idiots chasing me should realize I don't sleep (I wasn't sleeping now), and even if I _did_ sleep, I could still react faster than they ever could. Silently, I shot up, not even disturbing the sleeping Angel and Gasman. They were huddled together on my right side; I'd disentangled them from me just in case something like this happened.

Something like this _always_ happened. Although, come to think of it, I'd never been in quite this same position before. I figured it might have been an Eraser -or maybe their newest upgrade, a Flyboy- but was slightly surprised to see that I hadn't latched onto to anything that looked at all wolf-like. The wrist I was holding at just the right angle to crack with a carefully placed squeeze was Fang's.

"What the heck are you doing?" I hissed through the darkness, though I could see him perfectly despite the night sky. We all had enhanced night vision, better than any human's. Even Iggy could probably get around easier in the dark than your average human.

Fang put a finger to his lips, motioning for me to be quiet. Well, duh. "Can we talk?" Not that he waited for an answer or anything. He'd already eased his way out of my tight grip and was heading deeper into the woods. I rolled my eyes lightly. Why did he always have to walk? Why couldn't we just _fly_ somewhere private and talk?

Anyway, I followed after him into the dark trees, arching a brow when I found him about twelve feet away from the clearing the rest of the Flock was sleeping in. "Oh, private."

He shrugged lightly, leaning back against a large pine tree. "Last time we left them alone, it didn't turn out too well," Fang reminded me, his tone holding a tiny hint of resentment. I shrank back, feeling the sting of that one. Sure, it was as much his fault as mine that the others had gotten captured, and it sort of worked out in the end, but it was almost like he was questioning my leadership skills.

Again.

"Look, I know we don't see eye to eye all the time, but trust me, I know what I'm doing." My voice had risen slightly. I heard rustling from the clearing. Fang quickly did a 360 of the surrounding area. It must have just been one of the others moving around or something.

"I trust you," Fang assured me, meeting my eyes for longer than a second for the first time in what felt like forever. He was my best friend. He always had my back. I had to remember that.

"So, mind telling me why you dragged me out of my peaceful sleep?" He dropped the backpack he'd been carrying around since close to forever and pulled out his laptop. "Yeah, check this out..." Fang's fingers worked the keys rapidly for a moment, and I let out a very loud sigh.

"C'mon, Fang. Enough with this blog business. I know kids are people too, but they don't need to get involved in this." Besides, there was no way normal kids would be able to handle half the stuff we went through every day.

Fang fixed his gaze on me, dark eyes narrowed. "If it wasn't for those kids, you'd still be stuck back in Europe."

"I wouldn't have been stuck in Europe if you hadn't abandoned me," I reminded him, not bothering to hide the anger welling up behind my voice. We hadn't really talked about it. I mean, it had only been three days since the whole European Itex incident, and we were all too glad to see each other to start arguing.

At least in front of the little ones. Now, alone, it seemed perfectly justified to fight with Fang. Deep in the back of my mind, I knew an army of human kids might help, but honestly, he was taking this too far. "I did not abandon you," he insisted, lowering himself to the ground and continuing to type. "_You're_ the one that brought a traitor along."

"That _traitor_ was my brother," I found myself growling, a sudden over protectiveness leaping up on me unexpectedly. Normally, this feeling only came when I was fighting Erasers off of one of my Flock. It never happened when I was talking to Flock member. "And he fought for us until the very end."

Fang gave a thoughtful 'hm' as he double-clicked on something. "I guess if Jeb came crawling back here, offering to stay with us, you'd let _him_, too." That was a low blow. He knew I'd been close to Jeb, even before all of this had started. I'd imagined Jeb as my father; he taught me how to fight, and how to fly.

And then he betrayed us. I would _never_ trust Jeb like I used to. "I would never," I stated lamely, having to concentrate on fighting off the anger bubbling beneath the surface. "You know me, Fang. I. Would. Never."

And, behind that frown he always seemed to wear, I could see he was sorry. I could read Fang, granted not as much as he could read me, but I knew he hadn't meant for all of that to come spilling out. I just wished he'd be a man and say it. "I know you wouldn't."

There was a long pause, and then he gestured to his laptop's screen. "Look what I found..."

Typical Fang.


	5. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **Erasers seem to have eaten my disclaimer. Just so you know...I don't own Max Ride.

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**4**

I was peering over Fang's shoulder, staring blankly at the screen of his laptop and trying to decipher the multi-colored lines on the screen. They were of varying lengths, starting at different points on the screen. "What is this?" I found myself asking, eyes narrowed as I noticed the Itex symbol in the upper left corner of the screen. My heartbeat automatically sped up, my breath catching in my throat. This was a lead, wasn't it? Fang had found a lead on saving the world while I was sitting around, reminiscing on the Adventures of the Amazing Max and the Bird-Kids.

Way to focus, Max.

Fang traced one of the lines, a red one, with his finger. The line started at the very edge of the laptop screen, and ran off of it. He had to scroll sideways to catch the last couple of inches. There was a number scribbled hastily underneath the line, and some sort of code above it, handwritten in a very familiar scrawl. "Jeb," I muttered in a low voice. Fang nodded.

"Remember those papers we got from the Institute?"

How could I forget? I nodded automatically. "The ones with our names and all that weird code?"

"Yeah. I compared them, and the numbers under these lines are...They're the same as the ones next to our names." Fang and I exchanged glances. Then these simple straight lines, drawn all over the screen, they meant something about us. But what?

"You have any idea what it means?" He shook his head slowly, though I could tell something had come to mind. I stared at him, my eyes narrowed. "Come on, Fang. I know you, too. You have to have some kind of theory..."

"I think they might be our expiration dates." This time, my heart felt like it had frozen in my chest. I hated thinking about that. I'd seen it happen. One minute, Ari had been fighting at my side. And the next...He was gone. I couldn't stand to watch that happen to my Flock.

I didn't even want to imagine what it must feel like to die so suddenly. It was so thoughtful of the whitecoats to arrange it so your expiration date appeared on your neck when your time got close. That way you could make up a will, plan your own funeral, and go to Vegas before you died.

Almost instinctively, I yanked at Fang's shirt collar. He glanced up at me from his seated position, and shook his head slowly. Once I was sure there was no black-ink tattoo on his neck, I took a deep breath. "Check me."

Fang simply stared at me before getting to his feet and tugging at the hood on my jacket. I pulled my hair back out of the way, taking deep steady breaths. What was the worst that could happen?

Oh, right, I could be dying within the month. Fang took a long time to decide whether or not I had a blatantly obvious date printed on the back of my neck. I wondered vaguely if there was one, and he was thinking of lying to me, so I wouldn't expect it. You know, just die like a normal person who wasn't being chased for being a genetically-altered kid every day of her life.

But then he backed away, and I heard his sigh. It was a relieved sigh, from what I could tell. "No mysterious black tattoo on the back of your neck," Fang informed me as he bent down to retrieve his laptop. "Anyway, I think we need to figure out what this code means before we can be sure..."

I nodded slowly, straining my ears to catch the breathing patterns of my Flock. I could hear the Gasman snoring and Total talking to someone. Iggy and Nudge were talking to each other. There was a deep breath I knew to be Angel's. They were fine. We were safe.

At least for now, anyway.

Suddenly, a loud snapping noise made me glance wildly about, instantly on defense mode. I caught Fang's gaze as he stuffed the computer into his pack, though I could tell he'd tensed, too. His footsteps were loud and deliberate, as if trying to lure whatever was nearby away from the Flock, and towards us. Which I guess was a better idea, although I preferred the simple Up and Away maneuver myself.

There was a heavy silence where I controlled my breathing pattern to slow down. Then, if I needed to leap into action quickly, I could conserve energy. My heartbeat, though, seemed to be hammering against my rib cage. I was honestly surprised Fang hadn't commented on how loudly it was beating. "What do you think-"

And then, out of the nearby trees, a group of Erasers fell from the sky. I mean, they had wings, and they literally fell from the sky. I mentally cursed my Voice. _What happened to 'all the Erasers have been retired?'_

And, as usual, the Voice never answered when I wanted it to.


	6. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: **Total would like you to know that I do not own him, or anyone else for that matter. They are free mutants, thank you very much.

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**5**

"Erasers?" Fang managed, flipping his pack onto his back and rocketing upward. We had the advantage in the air. This batch looked like it was about a model 2.0 Eraser, meaning they had wings that were connected by duct tape and the coordination of a hockey player in the air. The thing was, they all looked strangely familiar.

I'd been too preoccupied with studying the Erasers to notice that three of them had surrounded me, while another three took to the air, after Fang. I considered my options. Basically, as a bird-kid, there are always two options: fight or flight. Fang had taken the 'flight' strategy. As for me? Well, Fang could handle himself. And to tell you the truth, I was itching to kick some Eraser tail.

It's amazing what you end up missing when you don't have it anymore. Sure, those Flyboys had been a nice rest from checking about for possible Erasers, but you really start to miss your fist colliding with real, mutant bone after a while.

Speaking of which, my fist connected with the side of an Eraser's head, sending him stumbling backward. I moved backward, in a combat stance and my arms raised in front of my face. Combat was my specialty. I knew how to fight. Jeb had taught me. He'd taught everyone, but it always seemed like he taught me especially.

I guess we know why now.

Two of the Erasers were mid-morph, their human features taking on a distinctly wolf-like appearance. The other was already all predator, lunging for me as I leaped into the air. That Eraser ran head-first into the tree I'd been standing in front of, though his companions rushed me from either side. I winced when they practically sandwiched me between them, my wings pinned to my sides.

For a brief moment, I fluttered them uselessly, realizing they were stuck. I brought back my fist and jammed two fingers into one of the Eraser's eye sockets, sending him howling backward. As soon as that one released his grip on me, I rocketed into the sky, just above the treetops. Two of the Erasers were still ready to take off after me.

I think I'd blinded that one. Oops. Let's just say it was payback for Iggy.

I angled myself downward, beginning a steep dive. Tucking my wings in, I sped toward the ground at a decent speed. It was nothing compared to when I went into hyper drive, but the natural speed gave me a much-needed adrenaline rush. "Hey big, tall, and ugly!" I yelled, pulling out of the dive just before my head connected with an Eraser's extended claws. "HEADS UP!" Tucking my legs up to my chest, I pushed off with the force of the dive, sending the Eraser staggering backward. The Eraser was knocked over, and I was on top of him. Drawing back my fist I punched him hard once, twice, three times. I winced slightly once I pulled back, stepping off of him. I'd heard the ribs crack when I'd kicked him, though when I heard the horrible, familiar sound of a neck snapping, I got to my feet, staring down at the Eraser's immobile body.

It's not like I've never killed anyone before. I have, and that's the sad part. I'm practically trained to be a fourteen year old assassin. But that exact move, the way I'd done it...

Memories began flashing past my eyes like video clips on a movie screen. There I was, in the subway tunnels of New York. And there was Ari, taunting me as usual. He'd started it. He was going after me. But I finished it; I'd made sure of that. I killed him once, but he'd come back. Jeb's words rang in my ears: "You killed your own brother!"

Back then, it had haunted me. But now, after spending time with Ari, I can't believe I'd ever done that to him. He was just a kid. He was like us. And now...

Torn from my thoughts by a strong, hairy fist colliding with the side of my face, I fell back, regaining my balance quickly. The lone Eraser was standing in front of me, grinning an Eraser grin. I knew now they had to be genuine Erasers. They didn't smell like cheap metal, like the Flyboys had. Erasers had a very distinct smell.

I wiped blood from my face, noting that there were three long scars down my cheek from the Eraser's claws. The dog-boy glared at me, still wearing that canine grin. "Didn't think you'd be seeing us again, did ya?"

He was circling me now, though I kept moving. Rule two of combat: never stay still. "No, I was pretty sure you'd all been _retired_." A swift kick hit me in the gut, knocking the wind out of me. I fell backwards, gasping when the Eraser hit me again, in the same place.

Rule one of combat: Never underestimate your opponent.

I hit the ground hard, still struggling for breath. The Eraser pinned me to the grass, his jaws dangerously close to my ear. I could smell his breath, and let me tell you, he needed to use some Listerine. "I'll let you in on a little secret, _Maximum_," he paused, grinning down at me. My wings were pinned underneath my body, and he was holding my arms at my sides. My brain was moving at warp speed, trying to think of something, _anything_ that would get me out of this. "We don't die easily."

And that's when I saw my opening. Thrusting my legs upward, I caught him right in the groin. The Eraser howled in pain, falling backwards as I shot into the air. I could see Fang, sparring with two Erasers over head.

One awkwardly flying Eraser took a dive toward the Earth after Fang landed a punch. Correction, Fang was fighting one Eraser.

I sped forward, my wings pumping quickly. I had an overload of adrenaline. In fact, the pain from the injuries I'd gotten hadn't even met my brain yet. I practically flung myself between Fang and the Eraser, grinning as the canine's jaw dropped.

"Surprised to see me?"

"Correction," the Eraser grinned a wide grin, and my heart sank. "No, Max. I think the question is are _you_ surprised to see _me_?"

It was Ari.


	7. Chapter 6

**Lit Note: **Just wanted to take the time to thank my reviewers (you know who you are). And, for future reference, I will not stop writing this fic unless I specifically say I will (which I won't). I do not, and I will never, threaten not to update if I don't get (insert-number-of-reviews-of-your-choice-here). I write because I love it, and for you guys. It doesn't matter to me if only one person reads and likes my stories. At least that means my story made one person happy. And that's really all I care about.

**DISCLAIMER: **I am not an identity thief under the guise of James Patterson.

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**6**

Angel shot up with a start, blue eyes wide against the dark forest. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she squinted through the darkness, passed Iggy and Nudge to see just deeper into the forest, where she'd caught Max's thoughts last. "Angel?" Nudge murmured in a sleepy sort of voice. "What's wrong?" It was inaccurate to ask 'is something wrong' in the Flock. With them, something was _always_ wrong.

"Something's coming. They want to take us back..." Angel didn't bother to finish her sentence completely. They all knew what 'take us back' meant. The School, the horrid place where they'd grown up. In the past six months, they'd visited twice. None of the Flock planned on going back any time soon.

"I hear them, too," Iggy added, already on his feet and tapping the Gasman's hand. He shot up quickly but silently, as they'd been taught by Max. "Well, up and away, right?"

Gazzy had shot to his feet, eyes wide and making him look younger than he was. "What about Max and Fang?" His voice sounded somewhat strained, his gaze darting to the sky. Maybe they were already up there, and coming to get them. He hoped so. They really didn't need another split up, not after the way the last one had ended up.

"Don't worry, Gazzy," Angel assured him, startling him out of his thoughts for a moment. Sure, they were all used to Angel getting into their minds every once in a while, but that didn't make it any less weird. "Max and Fang are already in the air. There's only one Eraser left..."

Nudge nodded slowly, unfurling her wings and looking up into the sky. Her raptor vision focused, and she could just barely make out three dots from this far away. They were pretty high up. "So we should just go after 'em, right? After we kick some butt, we can just take off from there..."

"That would work," Iggy stated slowly, and Nudge realized that they were all backed into a very tight circle. "If we weren't being followed..."

"Hello, kiddies," the voice sounded more like a snarl. All four swerved around to face the creature staring at them from out in the darkness, shielded by the trees. They could make guesses as to what it was, but they wouldn't be sure. Iggy probably would have been able to tell if it was an Eraser, and Angel would've been able to sense that they were coming.

Angel's face fell. She hadn't read any thoughts besides Max's, Fang's, and that group of Erasers. So what was this? A Flyboy? "Show yourself!" Nudge stated suddenly, getting irritated with staring blankly at a pair of blood red eyes.

The Gasman shivered beside her. "Maybe we don't want it to show itself. I'm fine just standing here and waiting for Max and Fang to come save us..."

Iggy sighed heavily. "That's the problem. We rely on them too much. What if Max and Fang disappear? What happens to us then? We need to learn to fend for ourselves. And besides, it's not like we're helpless. We can take...whatever that thing is!"

"You sure?" Came the same growl of a voice, sounding amused. "Are you really sure you can handle this? It's pretty creepy."

"In case you didn't notice," Nudge murmured, "We deal with creepy things every day of our lives." The voice laughed loudly, and Angel couldn't help but notice it seemed familiar. Where had she heard that before? In someone's mind? She couldn't place it.

"Yeah, we grew up in a lab," the Gasman remarked. "We saw stuff that would make your blood boil." Literally.

"Oh, really? Then this should be no problem for you..." The figure moved out of the shadows, and there was a collective gasp. What emerged from the trees looked very much like Max, so much so that Angel almost ran over to her. But then, her features began to change, becoming distinctly wolf-like. It was Eraser Max, and she was real this time. "So, Flock, ready to follow your _indestructible_ leader now?" And she was holding a squirming Total in her...paws.

Oh. So that's why the voice had sounded so familiar. It was another one Angel had heard in Max's head. Maybe she needed to stop randomly listening in on other people's thoughts. It was starting to give her a headache.


	8. Chapter 7

**Lit Note:** Everything appearing in this story is based on cannon Max Ride. This means that, yes, everything that happened in the first three books did in fact happen, and nothing that I _don't_ see happening in the future will happen. This includes random in-Flock coupling, aside from the occasional Fang/Max. But I honestly can't promise any of that, either, considering I'm just writing this stuff as I go along. I mean, this is Maximum Ride. So expect more action and suspense than romance. As it should be. Fly high...

Lit

**DISCLAIMER: **James Patterson and Lit are not the same person. However, I will not totally deny the fact that we may be clones. What? I like clones...

* * *

**7**

"What is it?" Iggy growled under his breath. It was irritating sometimes, how people reacted to things they saw, and just expected him to react along with them. Newsflash! He was blind. He jabbed the Gasman in the ribs, and Iggy heard him suck in his breath.

"...Let's just say bird-kid and Eraser don't mix."

"Who?" Oh, God. Were Erasers like werewolves? Could they bite you, and you'd turn into one? _That doesn't make sense, Iggy. We've all been bitten loads of times, and nothing really bad has ever happened._ He'd almost jumped when he heard Angel's voice inside his head. Almost.

They were all gathered around him, Gazzy on one side, his wings brushing his own. Angel was on his left, her small hand slipped into his. And Nudge was practically on top of him, the way she was pressing her back against him. It was then that Iggy realized he was the oldest, he was the smartest, and he was the one in charge right now.

And they were all looking to him -literally staring at him, he thought- for a plan. That was Max's job, not his. Suddenly, a new set of footsteps echoed in his mind. They were familiar, not too heavy but not as light as Angel's were. He concentrated for a moment before nudging the Gasman again. "Max?" He muttered.

Gazzy nodded before realizing that obviously had no affect on Iggy. Instead, he tapped his hand twice. Iggy frowned slightly, hearing Max's voice. Not Max's real voice, he reminded himself, even though it sounded like an exact replica.

"The Flock," Max's voice murmured, sounding amused. That was tipoff number one. Max didn't amuse easily. "I was sent to bring you back. Alive." A chuckle that faded into an angry sort of growl. "Apparently you're important to the By-Half plan. Jeb said so."

A long pause.

"Or," Max's voice faded, and her laughter replaced it. Iggy felt Angel lean into him. He squeezed her hand in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "He might have some last words to say to you. You know, the only one they really care about is Max..."

"She's supposed to save the world. I figured they might think she's important." Iggy had to admire Nudge. Even if she had a big mouth, sometimes it came in handy. Like now, when she was distracting the potentially lethal Max-clone from eating them.

Max's voice chuckled. "They do think she's important. Very important, actually. Actually, they're thinking of giving her some kind of incentive to start saving the world, or side with them."

"Max would _never_ side with Itex!" The Gasman burst out. "They're the reason she has to save the world in the first place..."

"True," Eraser Max responded with a heavy sigh. "Too bad she'll have a pretty hard choice. I mean, save millions of people in the world, or save_ you_." The way the emphasis was put on 'you' made Iggy nervous. He needed to think of a plan, and fast. But he didn't _have_ a plan.

_There's _always_ a plan._ For a moment, Iggy thought Angel had appeared in his mind again, but then he realized it was Max's voice ringing in his ears. And then, he had a lightbulb moment. Gently disentangling himself from Angel, he took a step forward, in the direction he knew Max's counterpart to be. He held two fingers behind his back: the Flock's signal for 'wait'.

"You want us all alive, huh?"

"That's the plan."

"Well, you're gonna hafta catch 'em first!" His fist had clenched behind his back, signaling for the rest of the Flock to take off. He stood between them and Eraser Max, whose eyes darted to the sky when the Gasman and Angel sprang into the air together, holding hands.

Nudge lingered for a moment, staring at him. "Iggy..."

"U and A," he replied in a stubborn tone. "Nudge, go. The little ones need you." Eraser Max snapped back into reality at that moment, lunging forward in an attempt to catch them before they got too high. The Gasman was faster. He dropped the small homemade explosive just when the Eraser latched onto his ankle. It exploded in her face, and she hit the ground, howling.

Iggy stiffened slightly, standing directly in front of the spot he knew Eraser Max had to be standing. Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around him, and he tensed. But these arms weren't hairy, they were familiar. And Nudge squeezed him tight before taking a step back. "You don't have to be a hero, you know."

"What can I say," Iggy murmured, "Max taught me well. _Go_." Once he heard the sound of Nudge unfurling her wings and hit the air, he relaxed.

Big mistake. That's when he was bowled over by Eraser Max.


	9. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: **The Flock would like to remind you that they are not owned by anyone. Except James Patterson, of course.

* * *

**8**

I had to admit, I was surprised. Although, surprised isn't the word I would've used. The words on my list? Shocked, confused, bewildered, and the ever popular 'didn't I just watch the guy die a couple days ago?' That seemed to be a very popular theme with killing Ari. He always seemed to come back.

How was that even possible? Erasers had set expiration dates. I had literally watched him die in my arms. My expression must have been amusing, because Ari gave a long, low laugh. For a moment, his laughter sounded like that of the three year old boy I knew from long ago. Then it faded back into that creepy, Erasery laugh.

"You...died," I responded lamely, still hovering between Fang and Ari in midair. I could tell Fang was angry. We were only hovering, but his wings were beating fast and hard, as if he was ready to zoom forward at any minute.

"Twice, actually," Ari answered coolly. "Or don't you remember?" The way he talked about it so casually sent a shiver down my spine. I remembered. I remembered every single detail. "Time to settle the score."

The way his words were dripping with anger instantly made me go into a defensive stance. It was strange, almost like everything that had happened to us within the last month never happened. He sounded like he wanted to kill me again, or worse. "You already tried to kill me," Fang snarled, darting out in front of me. "How about _we_ settle the score?"

"Oh yeah," Ari gave a wolfish grin. "I would've killed you too. I wanted to, but apparently that didn't go with 'the plan'." The Eraser made air quotes to emphasize his point before continuing. "But the plan's changed. I'm free to kill all of you, in any order I want. I wanted to get rid of Max first..." I felt his eyes linger on me for a moment, and I moved around Fang, my patience wavering. "But, come to think of it, she'll probably suffer more if she has to see her own Flock die first." My eyes widened considerably, and I launched myself at Ari.

Something held me back, though. No, some_one_. I glared at Fang, who'd latched around my wrist to keep me from ramming right through Ari, spraying California with bits of Eraser. His mouth was formed into that familiar frown, though I saw understanding in his eyes. "Let me take him. You can watch _my_ back for once."

I glared at him, though my gaze drifted to Ari, who was flying a lot more steadily now. His wings even looked stronger. And it was possible. For all I knew Ari had been brought back to life and then experimented on by the whitecoats. They could've even messed with his brain, making him forget that they weren't really enemies, even making him forget we were related. "I promise. I won't die."

My focus shifted back to Fang, and I opened my mouth to speak. However, before I could even open my mouth, Fang had lunged at Ari, slamming full-force into him. The Eraser staggered back, hovering awkwardly for a moment before regaining his balance. It seemed easy for him to fly, like it had been programmed into him. Which was odd, considering we'd had to learn to fly ourselves. Trust me; I still had scars from jumping off that cliff in the backyard.

Fang and Ari were pretty evenly matched in the air. Ari was stronger, but Fang was the better flier. The Eraser landed a few good hits, but Fang dodged most of them easily. He could fly circles around Ari. Unfortunately, one of Ari's punches caught him off guard, and he spiraled to the ground.

My alarms went off instantly. First of all, Fang didn't get hit in the air often. Secondly, he rarely got hit hard enough to make his wings fold. Panicking, I felt myself freeze up. Think, Max, think! And then I remembered something: I had super speed powers.

Breaking into a steep dive, I sped toward the ground at warp speed. I was slightly startled when I passed Fang on the way down, unable to break my speed long enough to stop. I managed to brake a few feet before hitting the tops of the trees, staring blankly up at the tiny dot I knew to be Fang. "What was _that_ about?"

"I had to drop back and recover," he called back. A pause. "Go and get the others. I'll handle Ari." Ever since the Flock had split up and Fang had tested his leadership capabilities, he'd been testing me. Most of the time, I snapped at him, making a big scene about how I was the leader and how I could handle it.

Even if I sometimes felt my head would explode from the stress overload.

But, rarely, Fang knew what he was doing. I mean, I was obviously flustered seeing Ari again. And I was worried about the rest of the Flock. "Don't kill him." I muttered under my breath before catching an air current and flying back to our clearing.


	10. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: **The most I own the rights to is my life story, which more than likely will not be published. These kids are much more exciting anyway.

* * *

**9**

After my adrenaline rush wore off, I realized that there was a searing pain near the tip of my right wing. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the time I'd had a bullet lodged there, but it hurt like hell, and I realized I couldn't fly on it the hard way.

Picking myself up from the ground, I arched my wing to get a better look at it. I think there was something stuck there, which would explain why it was throbbing so badly. I'd have to have Iggy look at it once I found them. I glanced around cautiously, trying to figure out just where I was in the forest. Our clearing was to the east, but if there had been an Eraser attack, the rest of the Flock was probably ambushed, too.

My heart sank. I really needed to stop having 'private' conversations with Fang in the middle of the night. Bad things always seemed to happen. A twig snapped to my left, and my head whipped around. "Someone's there," the Gasman hissed. Instantly, I was flooded with relief.

"It's _Max_!" Nudge. She sounded like she'd just seen a pack of Erasers materialize out of nowhere. Instinctively, I glanced over my shoulders. No Erasers. Just me, and the Flock, still hiding in the trees nearby.

"Uh, guys?" I murmured, my voice holding a slightly irritated edge. "It's me. Come on, let's go." No one moved. I heard muffled whispers, and then Angel exclaimed "I know!" What was their problem? I know I taught them to be careful, but it was me for crying out loud!

_Oh, Max. It's really you. _Angel tumbled out of the bushes and rushed towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I blinked, staring down at her before bending down to her level and hugging back. Nudge and the Gasman followed her out, though they were both glancing about warily. The Gasman was staring hard into my eyes, as if trying to see through me.

I tried to sound calm, but the way they were acting was freaking me out a little. "What happened to you guys? You look like you've seen a ghost..."

"Not exactly," Nudge answered, sighing heavily. "We did see you, though, except it wasn't really you. It was an Eraser." My breath caught. Had I heard what I thought I just heard? She continued. "We thought you were Eraser Max for a minute, so we had to have Angel get into your mind. You're the one that taught us to be so careful, but it was weird. If they have a Max on their side..."

I looked down at Angel after she pulled away from me, looking depressed. "I can't read her mind. She has Total. And..."

Then I realized. "Where's Iggy?"

Gazzy held up the small pack Iggy always wore. I knew it was full of explosives. When I reached out for it, (I really couldn't have an eight year old carrying around a bag of bombs, no matter how trained he might be), he pulled it away, tucking it under his arm protectively. "Iggy had a plan. The plan was he was the distraction."

"He's alone. With...me?"

"Eraser you," Nudge clarified. "I told him not to stay, but he said you trained him...Max, you and Fang and Iggy, you'd never leave us, right?" I was caught off guard by the sudden question. My mind had been lingering on how to get Iggy back without totally endangering the entire Flock.

"No, sweetie," my voice had eased into that motherly tone again. "We're a family, we stick together. Right?"

The Gasman sighed. "Not all the time..."

"Where is Iggy? Back at the clearing?"

"Yes." Angel was staring at me. "Max, why are you thinking about your wing?" I winced slightly. Sometimes, that tendency to read my mind when I wasn't looking was irritating, especially when I was trying to hide something from them.

"It's nothing..."

"There's a big piece of bark sticking out of your wing," Gazzy pointed out, pointing to it. Someone touched it, and I nearly yelped in pain. But I was the indestructible Maximum Ride, as Ari called me. So I settled for a grimace.

"It's fine," I echoed, though my voice didn't sound nearly a strong as before.

"You can't fly on that," Nudge pointed out. "Let me get it." I shook my head, tucking my wings in and moving out of her reach. "We're going to get Iggy. He's the only one I trust with my injuries." Which was completely true. Besides Dr. Martinez. But moms were just good at that stuff.

"Max." God, it was strange how much Nudge had grown up in the past few months. She was giving me a hard stare, one she'd most definitely learned from me. "It'll be easier to look for him from the air. You won't get very far with half a tree stuck in your wing. Now let me get it out."

Reluctantly, I extended my wing, and Nudge gripped the twig. I braced myself for pain, but once the thing was yanked out of my feathers, I felt much better. "Wow, that didn't hurt at all..."

Nudge stared at me, holding up the thing that had pierced my wing. "Um, it wasn't a piece of bark..."

It was a fang. Literally an Eraser fang.

Great.

And they were all staring at me, wide eyed.


	11. Chapter 10

**Lit: **Don't you just hate it when Patterson starts branching off on two or three really interesting storylines in Max Ride cannon? You get all into one storyline, and then he dives right into another one. And by the time you get back to the one you were interested in in the first place, another really cool one pops up. Unfortunately, I've taken a page out of James's book (literally) and like to branch off. Oh well. Fly high!

_**Lit**_

**DISCLAIMER: **Maximum Ride? No, I don't own that one. I do however own stock in Itex. You all do too. It rules the world. Like Wal-Mart.

* * *

**10**

Fortunately for Iggy, his hearing was amplified both by the avian DNA in his body and the fact that he was blind. When Eraser Max flung herself at him mid-morph, he was able to duck just as she leaped into the air. The sickening crack of Eraser skull on wood made him smile slightly. This was fine. His plan was working. The rest of the Flock was safe.

"That was either really brave of you, or really stupid of you," Max's voice, tinted with a feral growl informed him. Iggy sneered, swerving to face her. "Not many people would sacrifice themselves for a bunch of mutants."

"Really?" Iggy asked in mock surprise. "I know five other people who would." A punch hit him in the jaw, making him drop back, but when he did Eraser Max simply landed a kick to his stomach. Momentarily gasping for breath, Iggy shot into the air, narrowly avoiding the Eraser's claws.

Eraser Max met Iggy in the air, her wings beating rhythmically with his. "It's over, bird-boy. You're all alone and helpless." If there was one thing Iggy hated even more than being blind, it was when someone thought he was helpless. He was just as strong as the rest of them, and he held a grudge.

"You're helpless!" Iggy roared, rocketing forward with his legs straight out in front of him. His feet connected with Eraser Max's chest, sending her reeling backward, and then he landed a punch to her face. Hearing the satisfying sound of her head whipping around, Iggy flew behind her to avoid the flailing punches and kicks coming his way.

She was quick, though, and fierce, much like Max was. The Eraser slammed her fist into the joint where Iggy's wings met his back, exactly where Max had told them never to hit each other. Instantly, his wings folded, and he plummeted toward the ground.

By some kind of miracle, he'd landed in the lake just west of the clearing. Iggy broke the water, gasping for breath as he swam toward shore. Eraser Max hit the water behind him with a load splash. She was gaining on him, and he leaped into the air, slamming a roundhouse kick to the joint where _her_ wings connected with her back.

Eraser Max howled in pain, glaring up at Iggy, who hovered a few feet above her head. She launched herself forward, wings snapping out in the middle of her lunge, making her slam right into Iggy. He was thrown back, with her on top of him as they fell.

They struggled in midair, trading punches and kicks. Iggy managed to dodge most of hers, but one made a sickening crack on his nose as it broke. Blood stained his face, but Iggy kept fighting. He was on top as they fell, his own wings tucked in. Eraser Max was on the bottom, her weight working against her.

She reverted to her human form, and flipped him over. Iggy was pinned, her arms wrapped around him so tightly that his wings were forced against his back. Thrusting his legs upward in a forceful kick, he threw Eraser Max off of him, and flew upward. The kick had disoriented her, and she was hurtling toward the ground. Iggy took this chance to utilize the 'flight' method. After all, no one fought Max one on one.

"This isn't over," she snarled in a very Max-like way. Iggy almost felt bad for her when he dropped the explosive into the water. Almost.

As he rocketed away, the amazing sound of an explosion met his ears.

What? You didn't think Iggy let the Gasman keep _all_ the explosives, did you?


	12. Chapter 11

**Lit:** I know, I know. It's been forever since I last updated. I'm not going to give you all lame excuses, because you're readers and you don't really care about these author's notes anyway. So. Let's just say thanks to a wonderful reviewer named BlackRose for getting me off my lazy butt and allowing me to bring you new updates. Just as a note...if I ever start getting lazy again, feel free to flood my inbox. It apparently works.

* * *

**11**

"So, how'd you come back _this time_?" Fang growled as he tore passed Ari, circling him at his highest speed. "Did Daddy pay for it? Oh, that's right. He doesn't really know you exist, huh?" Ari let out a fierce roar, ramming Fang head on.

The two dropped back from the impact, circling each other again. Ari was glaring at Fang, but Fang seemed to be smirking. He soared forward, slamming his foot into Ari's face. His head whipped around, and Fang took the opportunity to land multiple punches onto Ari's chest.

The Eraser cracked his neck back into its normal position, catching Fang's fist before it hit him again. Ari seemed almost unfazed by the brutal kicks and punches. It was his turn to smirk. Snapping Fang's wrist back, Ari began clawing at his face. Fang dropped down several feet to avoid the onslaught, but Ari moved with him.

"Too bad your little girlfriend isn't here to save you this time, tough guy." That was it. Fang snapped. A snarl much like an Eraser's escaped him as he smashed his fist into Ari's gut. The Eraser fell back, the wind knocked out of him.

Fang quickly darted behind Ari, and yanked at his wings. They stiffened before closing, the Eraser dropping before regaining his balance. Fang tucked in his own wings, and dropped down to land on top of Ari. Now on the Eraser's back, Fang locked one arm around his neck, choking him. Holding the wrist of this arm with the opposite hand, he tightened his grip, making Ari gag.

"Who needs saving now?" Fang whispered in Ari's ear, startled when something -or someone- knocked him off of Ari. He went flying twenty feet before snapping his wings open and catching himself. There, hovering in front of him was- "_Max_? What are you _doing_?"

She was wearing a smug sort of smirk, and her eyes looked different. They were red? "I told you not to hurt him, Fang." Max sounded serious. His jaw nearly dropped in irritation. "Look, he almost killed me before. You expect me not to fight b-"

A fist connected with the back of his head, and Fang swerved to catch Ari's opposite fist just before it hit his face. Ignoring the pain in his own wrist, he clenched his fist around the Eraser's and heard a crunch, knowing he'd broken it. Ari growled under his breath, strong arms locking around Fang's body. Ari was bigger than he was. He held Fang down easily, his wings pinned to his back.

"Max," Fang growled as Ari turned to face her. "_Do_ something!"

"Oh, I will." In the middle of her sentence, her features began to change. Fang realized she was going Eraser. Staring blankly at Eraser Max's blood red eyes, he knew two things. One, this wasn't the real Max, and two, he was in big trouble. "Hold him steady, Ari."

That was easy. Fang had stopped struggling once he realized Max was morphing into an Eraser. She drew back her fist, and it knocked his head sideways. Eraser Max wound up again, only to be hit in the head with what looked like "Total?"

The dog yelped when the Eraser literally tossed him into the air, but Iggy flew up from underneath and caught him. "I see you've met my friend, Eraser Max." Fang gave a weak grin when said Eraser swerved around, eyes narrowing dangerously. With a loud roar, she went after Iggy, who easily flew away.

Fang then snapped his wings out, making Ari lose his grip on him. Swerving, he clasped both hands over the Eraser's ears, making them pop. Ari dropped several feet, and when Iggy hit the pressure point behind his wings, he dropped like a stone.

So now it was just Fang and Eraser Max. And Total and Iggy, though they were hovering below. He took a steep dive toward the ground, trying to escape. Eraser Max dove with him. In fact, Fang noticed, she went past him, gaining more speed with her weight. Fang pulled out of the dive about ten feet before hitting the ground.

Eraser Max wasn't so lucky. She and Ari were bruised on the forest floor, looking beaten. "Nice try. Better luck next time." Fang raced back into the sky, though he noticed Ari was speaking into a walkie talkie.

"Nice move," Iggy complimented, once Fang reached him. "Where's Max?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing about the Flock..."


	13. Chapter 12

12

Unconsciously, I rubbed my wing in the spot the fang had been caught. It didn't hurt as much anymore. Actually, it was more of a weak sort of tenderness that only throbbed when I touched it. So that was good. I could fly if I needed to. My gaze shifted to each one of my Flock. They were still wearing looks that said 'I just saw you as an Eraser', which, considering the situation, were justified. I guess.

So, on to my next problem. "That's just a coincidence. It's really me, I swear." And that was _so_ convincing. They were my Flock, they knew me. They should be able to tell that I'm not some bloodthirsty predator. _You taught them to be that way. _Perfect. Just when my problems start spiraling out of control, cue the Voice inside my head!

And the worst part was, it was right. I didn't really like the thought of Jeb being in my head, so I tried to ignore that little fact. _I wasn't the only one,_ I replied dully, trying to ignore the fact that a Voice was inside my head, giving me annoying advice and riddles. "Guys? Please tell me you can tell the difference between me and a bloodthirsty monster. It would make me feel a lot better..."

"Angel couldn't get into Eraser Max's mind before," the Gasman pointed out, hovering awkwardly behind Nudge. "And she can read this Max's. So..." He trailed off blankly, scratching his head in confusion.

"That's true," Nudge stated slowly, still staring at me with the same shocked expression she'd worn when she yanked the fang out of my wing. But when they all nodded, I realized they weren't looking at me like I _was_ Eraser Max, but like I could possibly become _like_ her.

"Iggy was thinking stuff about the Erasers," Angel told me in a low voice. "He thought maybe it was con...contag... con-"

"Contagious?" I supplied automatically. Then my eyes widened. "What do you mean Iggy thought it might be contagious?" This was not happening. There was no way becoming an Eraser was contagious. They weren't werewolves, no matter how much they resembled them. Oh, God.

"Well, it could've been an upgrade, right? I mean, Erasers always have new abilities when we meet up with them," Nudge was talking very fast, but from experience, I could still understand her. "If they bite you or something, it's possible for their DNA to enter your bloodstream or something, right? And we already have unstable DNA because of the avian DNA..." Don't remind me. I had forgotten about the fact that we could potentially spontaneously combust for the time being, but I had the sudden urge

to yank all of their shirt collars back and check for expiration dates.

I managed to restrain myself, however. "That doesn't make sense," I murmured weakly, and I could tell they noticed. My voice always held that hard edge, unless, you know, I was on Valium. I'd slipped. I'm the leader. I shouldn't slip up like that.

But that was one of my worst fears. To turn into the enemy and hunt down my own flock would be quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to me. Vaguely, I remembered the talk I had with Fang about this subject. He'd promised. At least when I talked to _him_ about it, I didn't walk away feeling like I was potentially a danger to my entire family. Now would be the perfect time for the Voice to tell me I'm not an Eraser and that I'm supposed to save the world.

But, the Voice never came when called. It wasn't a dog.

"I don't know, Max," Angel's voice pulled me back into reality. "Maybe you should try morphing?"

The look I gave her was probably what made her and Gazzy laugh, though it was uneasy, almost forced laughter. Sighing heavily I stretched out my wings, trying to relax my body before trying this. I wondered if it hurt turning into an Eraser, and decided it probably did. "Okay, fine, but if I turn into something big, tall, and furry, you run. Got it?" And even now I'm giving them orders. Nudge shot me a grin, a real one, and that eased my tension. A little bit.

So, how exactly do you morph into an Eraser? Don't ask me. I was tense, my fists clenched at my sides and my face screwed up in concentration. My eyes were jammed shut, and I thought about it. My mind raced for images of Erasers morphing, and I swear I felt something when-

"Max? You look like you're gonna explode." The Gasman. I cracked one eye open and held out my hand. Relieved to see it all human and not covered in fur, I nodded. "Becoming an Eraser isn't contagious. Good to know."

Nudge and Gazzy rushed to hug me now, sure that I wouldn't spring into a lupine hybrid before their eyes. Now, don't tell anyone, but I probably squeezed them harder than I normally would. Relief had washed through me as soon as the Gasman told me I was spontaneously combusting. Because, even though I didn't believe Eraser-ism was contagious, in the back of my mind I thought I might still have the wolfy family gene.

"Alright, guys, let's fly!"


	14. Chapter 13

**13**

"You left them alone?" Fang stated, obviously flustered. "You let them go, alone, with Erasers crawling all over the place?" Iggy gave a sigh, and if he could have, he would've sent Fang an irritated look. "You left _Max_ alone when they're obviously after _her_." They'd landed back in their clearing, hoping the Flock might return to the scene of the crime. But, knowing Max, that wasn't going to happen. Why would they go back to the place where they'd last been attacked?

"I guess that's why Max is the leader, huh? We kinda suck at this stuff." Iggy shot Fang a smile, which was received with a chunk of bark hitting him in the head. "Ow...What are you doing anyway?" Fang was seated with his back against a tree, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop. Iggy could make out the rapid typing; Fang _always_ wrote in his blog when he was worried about something.

"Nothing. Just updating the blog." Bingo. Iggy adjusted Total in his arms, shoving the talking dog away from him. Total groaned, irritated at being torn from his sleep. "Hey, next time you're gonna wake a guy, just drop me mid-flight, will ya?"

Iggy shook his head slowly, prodding Total with a stick. "Go be our lookout. Check and see if Max and the others are coming. You _do_ know how to tell the real Max from Eraser Max, right?" Total gave an irritated sort of growl. "You're not the only ones with enhanced senses around here. I won't make the same mistake twice..."

Total trotted off into the trees, and Iggy began roasting a marshmallow over the fire they'd built. Sure, it was a clear giveaway of their position, but if Max and the Flock were looking for them like they definitely were, they needed some way to plot their position.

Abruptly, Fang's incessant typing died, and he groaned loudly. Iggy's attention moved from the gooey mess on the end of the twig to his friend, arching an eyebrow. "What's wrong, besides the fact that the Flock's split up, because you weren't this restless when we were flying around Hollywood..." He heard Fang move and mutter 'nothing' under his breath. Iggy turned in his direction, voice holding a tinge of irritation as he spoke. "Look, I know I'm not Max and you don't pour all your emotions out to anyone, but I'm not one of the younger set, either. You can talk to me."

A deep inhalation of breath. "It's about us, isn't it. You found something." Iggy's words came out as a statement, not a question. Fang shifted uneasily. "Well, if it's anything like that code we found at the Institute, you're gonna need my help. Lay it on me."

There was some rustling and more quick typing. Fang was trying to access that file

with the strange lines on it. When it popped up, he studied it for a moment before relaying the information to Iggy. "So, I was trying to dig up some information on Itex the other day, and Nudge was helping. She managed to find some more files, but they were password protected. We only managed to open one...And I have no idea what it means."

"Describe it," Iggy replied, leaning back on his hands. His eyes were closed as he tried to visualize what Fang was saying. Six different colored lines, six codes with the numbers used for their names back at the Institute, six codes above them, all in Jeb's handwriting. "Weird. Whose name's first?"

Fang double checked the information on the screen with the copies from the Institute, just to make sure. "Max." His theory was actually starting to make a lot of sense. The codes ran in order of their ages, Max's first, then Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel. The first three lines were almost the same in length, only a few inches separating them. The other three were started farther to the right, and ran farther off the screen.

"What do _you_ think they are?"

"I told you, I don't know." Fang inhaled deeply. "You don't think they could be our expiration dates, do you?" Iggy shrugged, running over the codes above the lines in his head. They didn't make much sense, and were jumbled combinations of letters and numbers. "Could be. But we don't really have enough information to go on. There's probably other files in there that explain this one."

Fang nodded, going to shut the computer down. A small popup appeared on the screen, and the computer said 'You've got mail!' in a far too cheery voice. Iggy groaned, flopping onto his stomach with his wings stretched out behind him. "One of your bloggers?"

Fang shook his head, momentarily forgetting Iggy couldn't see him. He clicked on the link and tilted his head slightly to one side. The message was from Jeb.

_Stop Global Warming; Save the World._


	15. Chapter 14

**14**

Perched in the large pine tree, he was able to watch them without being seen. The Flock, separated, but in the same forest. Ari sneered, watching Fang and Iggy directly below them. He wasn't supposed to do anything to them yet; that's what he'd been told. But, honestly, he was an _Eraser_. Erasers had urges. One urge Ari had a lot was the urge to rip the wings off those bird-kids and send them packing.

Except for Max. He'd keep Max, just for himself. As much as he hated to admit it, Ari had always looked up to Max. She was the one his father liked the most. She was the one that seemed to make him happy. So, Ari followed them around, trying to be more like Max. Not that it had worked or anything. Jeb broke the bird-kids out of the School and left him there with the whitecoats.

And now, his dreams of being like Max were destroyed forever. He could never be like Max. Instead, he was this monster: mostly human, part wolf, and now, he thought as he scratched the joint where his wings joined his back, part bird. He'd always wanted to be part bird. But not like this.

But if he could capture those bird freaks, he could get rid of Max. Ari had always been jealous of Max. She was his father's favorite. And now that he knew Max was really his father's daughter, it stung even more. Max really was Daddy's favorite. Now, Ari didn't want to capture Max and keep her all to himself. He didn't seek friendship and acceptance from the girl he used to look up to.

No, now Ari wanted nothing more than to kill Maximum Ride.

"Focus, Ari." He nearly jumped at the familiar voice. It sent a shiver down his spine every time he looked at her. It was strange, because Ari's sole desire was to get rid of Max, but he was working alongside her freaking clone. "We have a job to do."

Max II was sitting on the branch next to him, still in her human form. Ari was fully morphed, simply because he physically couldn't revert to human form anymore. It was impossible. She held a pair of binoculars out to him, and gestured to the west. "Max and Co. are on their way..."

They were walking, Ari noticed as he watched the four of them down below. Actually, only three of them were walking. Max was carrying the little one on her shoulders. A rush of jealousy ripped through him as he watched. Why could she bond so easily with those freaks, but she couldn't even pay attention to her own _brother_? Granted, neither of them had known they were related so long ago, but she didn't pay any attention to him then, and she didn't pay any attention now.

Well, Ari mused, Max paid attention to him when he almost killed Fang. And when they were sparring. Talk about sibling rivalry. "So Ari," Max II murmured, sounding

amused. "What's the plan?"

"I don't know yet," he admitted, glaring down at Max's group in anger. He hadn't noticed that the binoculars had crushed beneath his grip. Dropping the bits of plastic to the ground, he unfurled his wings. "But there's _always_ a plan."

Max II grinned lightly, flexing her own wings. "I like the way you think, Ari. Figure anything out yet?" It was weird, Ari thought, how her eyes had changed color after the wolf DNA was injected. Max II was a lot like him. She wasn't wanted by Itex and was sent on useless missions, her Eraser-ism was applied later in life, and she had it out for Max, too.

"Yeah. My dad already sent the message. We know where they'll be heading next, so we'll just follow." Ari gave a very wolf-like grin as he took flight off of his branch. "But first, let's give 'em a little scare."

"You just read my mind, didn't you?" The thing about Max II was, she wasn't really Max. And he always knew that. But the thing Ari liked most about the Max clone was that she paid attention to him.

And that was enough to satisfy him, at least until he found some bird-kids to terrorize.


	16. Chapter 15

**Lit: **Okay. So, I got the Final Warning yesterday, and read it. Let's just say I didn't like it. I mean, it had its moments, but it felt like nothing happened. The action parts were great, but for the most part, it felt like filler. Plus it was too short. So, I'm continuing with this as if The Final Warning doesn't exist. Because I'm not accepting that as cannon right now. Fly on!

* * *

**15**

I don't really know why, but I felt really, _really_ relieved by the fact that I wasn't turning into a ferocious canine killer. Yeah, okay, so it's justified relief. I just wonder why I'm so scared of it in the first place, why I keep thinking that someday, it's going to happen. I'm going to wake up and be...well, you know. But now that my lookalike is running around being a wolf, maybe that means I won't turn into one. And, besides, I found part of my Flock.

So it's all good. "Max," Nudge interrupted the silence in a cautious sort of tone. "Why aren't we flying anymore?" I sighed heavily. Besides the fact that my wing still hurt whenever I pumped it up and down? No reason, really. But I'd better make one up fast, because I'm not about to look like a wimp who can't take a hit in front of the little guys.

"Because, knowing Fang, he went back to the campsite." I knew Fang, and I knew that because we hadn't really talked about where to meet if we got separated, he'd go back to the last place we were all together. That was sort of the unspoken agreement between us older Flock members. Unless, you know, the place is infested with Erasers. Which, thank God, it's not.

I hope.

The Gasman wrinkled his nose as he walked, digging about in Iggy's pack and withdrawing a small firecracker. "Why?" I moved to snatch the thing he was holding, but Gazzy simply grinned and shoved it back in the bag. "Iggy doesn't like it when other people touch his stuff."

"Because," I reasoned, trying not to sound too exasperated, "That's just the way Fang thinks." Angel's wings were drooping, and she was falling behind as we walked. I knew we were getting closer, because there was the tree Fang had leaned against while showing me that...whatever it was he found. No, I wasn't staring at him, I just remember the claw marks in the tree trunk. Come to think of it, that probably should have been a tipoff that we weren't alone in this forest.

Way to observe, Max.

_Take in your surroundings, Max. Learn from your mistakes._ There it was again, right on cue. I probably should've talked to Jeb about that when I'd seen him last, because the fact that it was him on the other end of my brain sort of freaked me out. How could I trust him? I knew I couldn't really trust _him_, per say, but the Voice had never lied to me. In fact, it had saved our butts. It had saved our butts more than once.

So I ignored the fact that Jeb was the Voice's secret identity, and kept pretending it was some bodiless voice in my mind, maybe even my conscience. Yeah, right, like an 

avian-human hybrid who kicked butt mercilessly every other day of her life had a conscience. That would just be too confusing.

"Come on, Angel, we're almost there," Nudge coaxed, trying to sound like her usual happy and chatty self. "Once we get there, Fang and Iggy will probably have food waiting, and it's almost morning. We can hide out somewhere, maybe in a cave, and sleep. Because, I think even Max is tired." The last bit came out as a little more than a whisper, and Angel managed a small smile.

I sighed heavily, glancing about at my Flock. The Gasman was caked with dirt, a smudge of what looked like gunpowder running down his cheek. He looked tired, but alert, picking through Iggy's pack. Nudge was all right. She'd gained a lot of endurance over the years. If anything, she was- "Max, I'm hungry..." -that.

But Angel was barely trucking along, and I could tell by the fact that her eyes were drawn to the ground and the way her wings were slumping that she was tired, hungry, and probably missed that little fur ball more than she would've missed me. Okay, so I'm exaggerating. "Come here, baby," I murmured, bending into a crouched position and spreading my wings outward. There was just enough room for Angel to fit between my feathers comfortably. Her eyes lit up the moment the words left my mouth, and she literally jumped onto my back.

I gave a forced grunt, humoring her. They all giggled. Angel weighed next to nothing, and I could easily carry her. Heck, I could probably fly a short distance with her on my back. "Alright, gang, forward. March!"

"Hey Max?" I turned to glance at Nudge, who was frowning slightly. "Yeah?" She tilted her head slightly to one side as she fell into step with me. Gazzy was on my other side. "What's global warming?"

I frowned. That question came out of nowhere. "Um, I guess it basically means that the earth's temperature is rising, because of the deterioration of the ozone layer." Even as I said it, I knew I was repeating the Webster's dictionary definition I'd heard on the news one night. Nudge nodded slowly before falling silent. "Why do you ask?"

"Dunno. I think you're supposed to save the world from it." I blinked, stopping my steady pace to stare at her. "And you know this why?" Nudge gave a wry sort of smile. "I can kind of...sense Fang's computer, because I'm so used to it, y'know? And it's close by and I can tell when he gets an e-mail and the one he just got was from Jeb. And it said 'Stop Global Warming; Save the world.'"

Okay, ignoring the fact that Nudge can sense Fang's computer from a distance and didn't tell me we were so close, this was a newsflash for me. How the heck was I supposed to save the world from global warming? That was a problem that started back before my parents were born (probably; humor me on this one), from spraying their hair spray out into the sky. "Great," I muttered lamely.

_Take it one piece at a time, Max. Learn from your mistakes._

I probably would've started verbally yelling at the Voice, but the Gasman beat me to the yelling. "Look! It's Fang!" And I can honestly say that for once, I wished the Voice would expand a little bit.

I mean, 'learn from your mistakes'? That's something a _parent_ would say.

Oh, right...


	17. Chapter 16

16

I was leaning against the softest part of the hard rock wall I could find, my headed tilted back as my mind sifted through the many problems of Maximum Ride. With all of the issues I'm having right now, I could probably star in my own soap opera. Instead, I did a quick 360, glancing at each member of my Flock in turn.

Gazzy and Angel were curled up side by side, Total between them. The dog was snoring loudly. Nudge was sitting next to Fang with his computer in her lap. She looked completely drained, but was still typing away and talking to Fang, who kept muttering under his breath about God knows what. And Iggy was sitting near the entrance of the cave, multitasking. While keeping watch, I could hear him muttering the code from above those lines Fang had found.

Yes, I actually took Nudge's advice and took the Flock to a nice, safe, dry cave to catch up on sleep. Generally, Erasers never strike the same place twice. The catch? Nudge actually wanted me to sleep, which, you know, is kind of impossible for me. So here I was, leaning back against the cave wall, and trying not to think. It wasn't working out so well.

"Can you read it to me again?" Fang groaned. "Go to sleep. We're handling it." Of course, he knew as well as I did that whenever someone else tried to take control of anything I got all flustered and had to take charge. So, in a very Max-like move, I stood up and crossed the cave to stare down at the page Nudge had just extracted.

"Go to bed. You're eleven, and not a computer programmer. Leave it to the big kids." Nudge grinned up at me. "Don't tell me I need my beauty sleep. But fine." I waited until I heard her breathing pattern deepen, knowing she was fully asleep before speaking again. "Got anything new?"

"Besides the fact that you're supposed to somehow know the cure for global warming?" Iggy asked. He came in from the mouth of the cave and edged into the circle Fang and I had made, still listening for movements outside. It was quiet. "No."

"I can't help but think the key to everything is these stupid lines." Fang nearly smacked the computer as he spoke, so I took it away from him and placed the page with the multicolored lines -now edited by Nudge to say our names instead of random number code- and followed my own line with my eyes. It started first, but it also ended first. Tapping my fingers against the mouse pad, I picked up the papers we'd _borrowed_ from the Institute. I was searching for anything that matched the code above the lines.

I found the word 'expiration' once in the files, but it didn't match up with any of the codes atop of any of our names. In fact, every code was different. Mine didn't match up with Fang's, and Fang's was different from Iggy's. I sighed in exasperation, dropping the pages onto the cave floor. "I give up. I was never any good at riddles."

"Do you think when Jeb said global warming, he means 'global warming' or some secret code?" I turned to look at Iggy, who had just lowered his air quotes. "I mean, he's the Voice, and your Voice has never made anything perfectly clear, has it?" I gave a slow nod. He was right, though. If Jeb was talking to me as Jeb, he meant go out and fix the ozone layer. If he was playing as the Voice, he was telling me to go find the Eiffel Tower or something.

Then it hit me. "Why did he send an e-mail instead of just talking to me in my head anyway?" Fang stared at me and shrugged. "Probably because he knew if he did that, you'd keep the information all to yourself until you almost snapped. Again." I shot him a glare, but turned my attention back to the computer in front of me.

"How do you think they're planning on reducing the world's population by one half anyway?" I wondered aloud, beginning to type strings of words into a search engine. "Some sort of apocalyptic vision or what?"

"No," Iggy shook his head slowly. "They'll probably make it less noticeable. They won't be able to kill off that many people all at once. It'll look like some kind of conspiracy."

"Are you saying..." Fang trailed off, arching his eyebrow at me. "I think 'global warming' is the government's way of hiding what's really happening. Jeb doesn't want me to go fill the hole in the ozone layer. He wants me to figure out what Itex is planning..."

"How are you gonna do that?"

I sighed. "I don't know yet..."


End file.
